Valve closure for containers



D 1931- E. R. GEORGE VALVE CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 7, 1929.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 15, '1931 res,

* we e EDGAR n. enoneu'or onnuron, MARYLAND VALVE CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Application filed December 7, 1929. Serial no. 412,303.

Thefpresent invention relates to an improved form of closure or valve structure for containers and the like. In the present 111 stance the valve structure is particularly adaptable to containersflusedspecifically as hot water bottles,having therein for the purpose of creating heat, a chemical compound which in liquid state absorbs and contams a quantity of heat. For the purpose of releasing this heat and directing sameto useful Work, i. e., for heating the Wellknown ,hot water bottle,the same may be released by admitting air thereto at atmospheric pressure through the valve structure which is the subject matter of the present application.

Aparticular object oi the presentinvention is to provide a closure or valve structure for containers such as'metal hot, water bottles or the like, that is particularly adaptable for such containers when the'same may have therein a chemical compound for the purpose of radiating heat through-thewalls of the hot water bottle by means of permitting air at atmospheric pressure to come in contact with the chemical compound, and-oneof the particular objects of the present invention is a valve structure for the purpose of creating a dual seal against the leakage of said chemical compound.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a closure for hot waterbottles and the like, in the form of a valve structure having means therein for preventing the improper functioning of said valve structure due to crystallizationof the chemical compound on thevalve and in the valve passage,

which in many instances completely stops or seriously interferes with the proper functioning ofthe valve for the purpose of admitting air to the chemical compoundcontained in the bottle. a I

Another object of the present invention is to provide a valve structure as, and for the purpose as hereinbefore described, having means thereon for breaking up the crystal-,

lized chemical that mayhave affixed itself to that portion or the-valve enclosed within the container andadjacentthe inner valve-pas sage, thus allowing for the proper entrance of air at atmospheric pressure to the chemi cal compound within the bottle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a valve structure having means thereon for wiping that portion ofthe valve structure which acts as a means for breaking up chemical crystallization about the inner air passage of same, thus allowing for the ad-' mittance of air to the chemical compound and also presenting a clean, dry surface about said means, thus preventing the crystalliza-- tion'of said compound about the air passage due to any moisture that may be onthe said opening means, which would cause crystallization about this passage and stopping up i the same before the proper amount of air could reach the compound to give the desired reaction to the'chemical'for' the purpose of creating the maximum amount of radiated w heat. a

Anotherobject of the present inventionis" to provide jopenings in the form of slots inthe present invention'of valve structure for the purpose of admitting air to the aforementioned chemical Icompound, said slots having means for breaking up the crystalliza tion of said' chemical compound about said slots for the purpose offreely admitting air to the chemical compound through said slots.

7 Still another object of the present invention is to provide yielding stop, means to limit the stroke of the valve stem, thus preventing" the entire withdrawal of the stem structure from the seat portion of the valve, when the same is opened. a i

Still another object 7 of the present invention is to provide means for wiping and cleaning thesurface of the member of the valve structure which acts to remove any obstructions to the passage of air through the valve during the normal opening and closing function of the valve. c l 7 Another object of the present invention is, to provide a self cleaning valve structure hav ing means thereon for preventing the stopping up of the innervalve passage during" the normal opening operation of the valve.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, pointed out in the accompanying drawings, and claimed.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view in elevation of a hot water bottle partly broken away for the purpose of disclosing the invention or valve structure;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 22 of Figure 1, disclosing the inner structure of the valve member on an enlarged scale, the valve being shown in closed position;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, on an enlarged scale looking in the direction of the arrows as indicated; and,

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 2, showing the valve in open position.

Referring to the drawings, similar reference numerals represent similar parts as indicated in the various figures. 1 is the valve structure as a whole, which may be supported in the container or hot water bottle 2, by means of being sweated or brazed into the opening in the inverted bottle stem portion 3, of the bottle. The main body portion 4, of'the valve has on the bottom and integral therewith, a projecting or depending portion 5, having therein a plurality of slots 6, thus forming a series of projecting wiping fingers 25. For the purpose of increasing the inward yielding pressure of said lingers a spring ring 7 is provided and held in place about the wiping fingers 25, by means of the groove 8 in said finger members.

The knurled valve head 9, may have depending therefrom in a yielding manner the valve stem 10, having integrally mounted thereon the internal valve member 11, which engages the external portion of the valve or valve seat member 12. The spring 14, as in valve 11, to be under constant spring pres sure by means of the spring 14, when the same is in closed position with its valve seat 12. The valve stem 10, terminates at its opposite end in a substantially half-round shoulder 17, having a stop groove 18 therein, and a bottom head 19.

The valve body portion 4 may be threaded as shown at 20, for the purpose of engaging the threaded portion 21, of the valve head 9. This head may have a downwardly facing seat 23, for the purpose of engaging the upwardly facing seat portion 24, of the valve body 4. When the valve head 9, is screwed home tight, the two faces 23 and 24, of the head and body portion of the valve become tightly engaged, forming an additional sealing means in combination with the valve 11, against the leakage of the contents of the container through the valve structure.

As the engagement of the threaded portion 21, of the valve head with the threaded portion 20, of the valve body 4, is not perfectly tight, but is intentionally somewhat loose in their engagement for the purpose of enabling air at atmospheric pressure, when the valve head 9, is partially screwed upward to pass down through these threads and past the valve member 11, when the same is open and thence into the container or hot water bottle 2, it has been found to great advantage to provide, as described .above, the dual sealing means against leakage of the contents of the container, particularly in view of the fact that the threads do not function as a sealing means. As may be readily seen, this arrangement of parts provides the structure with a yielding sealing valve under constant spring pressure together with .a positive acting seal formed by the upper and lower surfaces 23 and 24, of the valve head and valve body, respectively. This structure is particularly adaptable for use in the present specific instance where .a highly volatile substance is used, such as the chemical compound or liquid used as a heating agent for hot water bottles of the kind heretofore described.

It has been found that one of the characteristics of the acid or chemical compound used in these hot water bottles for producing heat has a tendency to become crystallized at the point of the inner valve air passage at which the incoming air enters the inner chamber of the hot water bottle for the purpose of acting on the chemical to cause the same to release its heat and thus heat the bottle. This crystallizaion at the inner valve air passage seriously impedes the proper entrance of the necessary amount of air for causing the chemicalto act quickly and properly. in'fact, this crystallization may cause a complete sealing of the inner valve air passage and totally prevent the functioning of this type of hot water bottle To overcome this difiiculty and for. purposes of removing the crystallized formation at the inner valve air passage, the invention is provided as heretofore described, with a downwardly projecting slotted portion 5, of the valve body portion 4, having the wiping fingers 25, for the purpose forcefully and yet in a yielding manner by means of the spring ring 7 scrape or wipe off any crystallized formation that might form on the shoulder 17, and about the air opening 22, as indicated in Figure 2, thus when the valve head 9, is screwed outwardly, disengaging the positive sealing faces 23 and 24, together with the yielding valve member 11, from its valve seat 12, the shoulder 17 is caused to move upwardly against the inwardly directed pressure of the scraping 0r wiping fingers 25. These fingers, as shown particularly in Figure 3, are formed into arcuate segments of the same circumferential curvature as the shoulder 17 thus when the shoulder 17 is forcehas been screwed outwardly to a point where the fingers drop into the groove, thus preventing the complete removal of the valve and valve stem mechanism from the bottle,

which is wholly unnecessary in this particular type of hotwater bottle. It will be noted particularly in Figure 4, of the drawings,

Whichillustrates the fingers 25 and slots 6,

in a spread or open position, that due to the spreading of these parts any crystallized formation thereon of the chemical compound or heating agent would have a tendency to be broken up, thus allowing for an additional means for admitting air to the inner chamber of the bottle or to the heating agent, as heretofore described. V

The operation of the valve is as follows: when it is desired to cause the hot water hottle to become heated, the valve head 9, is un screwed slightly, thus unseating' the upper and lower positive sealing seats 23 and 24,

respectively. This unscrewing operation should be sufficient to unseat the yielding valve 11, from its valve seat 12, thus simultaneously causing the fingers 25 to scrape or wipe over the surface of the shoulder .17, breaking up any obstructions or crystallized formation that may have formed about this portion of the valve, i. e., theinner air pas-' V sage, thus allowing the air to, pass down through the threaded portions 20' and 21,

past the valve 11, and v'alve'seat 12, and

thence through the inner air passage 22, and

into the inner chamber of the hot waterbottle, for the purpose of causing the chemical compound to release its stored up heat due to the air coming in contactwith same. This operation is merely a matter of a few seconds when the valve head 9 is screwed downwardly to its normal closed position, thus causing the yielding and positive sealing means to tightly seal the valve passage in a dual manner for the purpose of preventing the hot chemical compound from escaping from the bottle. V

In the commercial type of hot water bottle to which the invention is applied, the same soldwith the necessary amount of heat producing chemicaltherein in a liquefied state, so that the bottle'is always ready, whensold over the counter tothe retailtrade', to

be initially heater merely by-the introduction of air therein, which is accomplished by unscrewing the sealing valve slightly, as here.- inbeforeexplained. This valve is thenim mediately screwed-back to its original closed position and the bottle is ready for use as a heat unit, due to the innnediate heatingof the same caused 'by'the reaction of the chemical thereinas a result of the introduction 'of air thereto. i

"As the bottle and its enclosed chemical cool off, the chemical becomes a substantially solid compound andwill not react when airis, introduced thereto for purposes of creating heat. Thus thebottle with the solid chemical compound therein must be placed in hot water. 'Upon remaining'in the hot water for short period of time the solid chemical compoundbecomes liquefied, and remains in a liquefied state even after the same cools off providingithe valve is kept closed and no air is permitted to enter the bottle. Thus "the bottle may beset aside foran indefinite period of time, until it is necessary to use same again.

Then for purposes of heating the bottle under.

conditions where fire is not readily available,

it is only necessary to open the bottle valve sufliciently to admit a small amount of air, which sets up a violent reaction on the enclosed chemical and produces heat, causing the bottle to become very i101, almost immediately. V

Withthe above explained method of use of the hot bottle it may be readily seen that the same may be used as a hot bottle for an indefinite period of time. The use of the term at atmospheric pressure when referring to the introduction of air to the hot bottle is used merely in an arbitrary manner for purposes of-indicating that the air ad mitted to'the hot bottle may be ordinary atmospheric air found under normal atmospheric conditions.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is: r

1. A valve closure for containers having co-operative sealing means therein in the form of a yielding sealing means and a positive sealing means forthe purpose of creatin a duel sealing functlon 1n said valve, sal

yielding sealing means having means thereon for the purpose of engaglng wiping means on the body of said valve closure, for the purpose of preventing the stoppage of the valve passage when the valve is normally open.

2. A closure for containers comprising threaded internal and external members, a valve seat in the external member and a valve yieldingly carried by the internal member for contact with said valve seat, said internal 4; mam ea:

andfe'xternal threaded members having 00- opertive sealingfaces, for the purpose. of, creating a positive sealing agent to act in, conjunction withv the yielding sealing valve 7! when the threaded members are screwed: to.-

getherto form an air and: liquid tight seal. 3. A closure for containers comprising threaded internal and external members, a valve seatin theexternal'memberand valve. 1 yieldingly carried by the internal member for contact with said valve seat, said internaland external; threaded members having cooperative sealing faces for the purpose of creating a positive sealing agent. to act in 1Q conjunction with the yielding sealing: valve when the threaded members are screwed together to form an air and liquid tight seal, co-operative means carried an said internal;- and external members for the purpose of 2 9 breakingup any accumulated obstruction. about the inner air passage of the valve to allow the free passage of air through said inner opening of said valve structure whenv the same is normally open.

In testimony whereof he hereunto aflixes his signature.

EDGAR Rt. GEORGE. 

